Saturday, 5 September 2015

About a Rug

A rug for the livingroom has been on the agenda since my beloved red antique wool rug proved too small for what became our livingroom in April. Finding one that could measure with it (and fit our budget) seemed unlikely. Also, I obviously refuse buying anything this big as a spur-of-the-moment - although, quintesentially, that is exactly what happened with the red one (and most of my belongings). I wanted something light, because I have learned to embrace the amounts of daylight that flood a top-storey apartment, and refuse to have any surfaces that would diminish it. A short berber phase came and went, the thought of a cow hide passed. Weaving a rug with Mum would have been ideal, but almost certainly involved too much blood, sweat and tears to be worth it - although I still haven't given up this project completely, so perhaps in a few years. I had already grown a little anxious (as if this was some pressing issue), when I ended browsing through Tori.fi (Finnish site where both private and corporate profiles sell pre-owned goods). Soon enough, I had my eyes on a white, woollen shepherd's rug. The rug was glorious, and perfect, and everything that I ever wanted. Gladly, I had the sense to take out a measuring tape and realize that the rug was hardly much larger than my red one. I changed my keywords and the site gave me another rug - but it was the same size. On the brink of buying both and desperately imagining I could combine them to fit perfectly (oh the things we tell ourselves), I stumbled upon a third shepherd's rug. And by some miracle, this one was exactly - and I mean exactly - the right size.

The rug was offered for sale by an elderly couple, who were asking for less than a tenth of what a berber would have cost us - and I sincerely liked this rug more. They had recently exchanged their house for an apartment and were currently emptying all that had gathered through the years. Turned out, they had purchased the rug at an imported rugs boutique in Helsinki in the 70s, and recalled that it might have been of Greek origin. It had not been in use the entire four decades, and was in very good condition. There was no hesitation, from the moment I layed eyes on the rug, I was completely enthralled. My infatuation is well depicted by the fact that I set my alarm earlier the next morning to manage vacuuming the living room and putting the rug down before work. I repeated the miraculous story of our new rug the whole day, to anyone who would listen. The rug has now been under our feet for a good while, but I still catch myself leaning against the living room door and just looking at it, feeling incredibly happy. Not because I am happy to own the rug, but because I have a strong feeling it will decorate at least another forty decades of our future homes. Once again, a fraction of someone else's past became a part of my future - in the spur of a moment.